Colby Covington has no doubt he would have taken down the greatest welterweight of all time if they ever fought.
Never lacking in confidence, Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) was asked how a potential fight between him and former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) would have gone, and he gave the answer most would expect.
The former interim welterweight champ said fighters have evolved immensely since St-Pierre’s time, and the UFC Hall of Famer would have a much tougher time dealing with today’s level of competition.
“I don’t think I could beat Georges St-Pierre – I know I’d beat St-Pierre,” Covington said on a recent episode of the MMA Roasted Podcast. “He was able to take a lot of guys down and hold them down and ground and pound. He’s not taking me down. My cardio is completely different. I’ve never been taken down in the UFC octagon, so he’s not going to be the first.
“Georges St-Pierre – his striking was very basic, very kindergarten. He didn’t have a lot of tricks. He just had that really good jab, but that’s pretty easy to counter if you’re moving your head and using footwork. I think Georges St-Pierre would have been a very extremely easy fight for me. He was ahead of his time. There were a lot of guys that time that were one-dimensional. They were either strikers or they were wrestlers, but they weren’t good at blending both.”
Covington, who’s widely considered one of the best 170-pounders on the roster, has won eight of his past nine. His lone loss came to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. He hasn’t fought since he stopped former champion Tyron Woodley this past September and is adamant that UFC president Dana White will follow through with his claim that he’s next in line for Usman.
Colby Covington says he’d have easily beaten Georges St-Pierre: ‘He was ahead of his time’
